Million Galleon Smile
by ArtemisRoseShadow
Summary: He ran fast, the corridor seeming longer and longer then Harry had remembered. He had to get to Luna! Something went wrong, terribly wrong, and Harry knew that Draco had something to do with it. He would do anything now. Luna's life hung in the balance.
1. Incognito

A/N: I NEEDED TO DO IT!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

This is not an AU. This fanfiction takes place when the cast is older and out of Hogwarts. Lord Voldemort has supposedly been defeated, for Harry destroyed the last Horcrux. Now they all go on about their merry little lives.

Harry sighed as he opened the door to his office. He threw his cloak on the hanger and began to walk to his desk, but stopped when he looked up to see two people in his office that usually aren't there. One, a dastardly beautiful witch with wide blue eyes worthy of a veela and shining blonde hair, whom Harry had seen in magazines and pictures before, was sitting on the edge of his ebony desk, gazing questioningly at him. The other person was a wizard that Harry knew well, Rufus Scrimegour, the Minister of Magic.

"Hello, sir." he said, then nodded to the witch. "Miss. May I ask what you are doing here?"

"Harry, don't be so suspicious." Rufus chuckled. "I've got a job that requires your expertise."

Harry straightened. "And what exactly would my expertise be, Minister?"

The man walked over and clapped a hand on Harry's thin right shoulder. "Don't be modest, you know what I mean You're exceptionally good at sneaking around, and oobserving people without anyone noticing! Theif stuff, right?"

"Err...right?"

"I thought so! So, I thought you could help out our Miss. Lovegood here with a bit of a stalker she's seemed to pick up, hmm?" he asked, gesturing over to the witch on Harry's desk, who was dressed from head to toe in white, sparkled robes with a pale blue hem.

His green eyes snapped over to her at the name. "Lovegood?" Harry questioned. "_Luna _Lovegood?"

The woman slid of the desk, reaching out her hand and grasping Harry's. He couldn't help but notice that her hands were extremely soft and very thin. "Hello, Harry." she whispered with a dreamy smile. "Long time no see, hmm?"

He stuttered as he shook hands with his old schoolmate. "Err ... Hi, Luna, err ... I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, I ... err..." he trailed off. How couldn't he have seen it before?!? Her wand was tucked behind her ear, she still wore very large radish earrings, her robes were spangled cleverly, and her unforgettable, quirky stare was still in place. Harry reprimanded himself. _You're supposed to be an Auror, and yet you can't even recognize an old friend?! _

"That's ok, Harry. It's expected. Ever since I got out of Hogwarts my looks have changed quite a bit. No harm done."

The Minister's beady eyes darted from inbetween the two young adults. "You two know eachother?" he asked incredulously.

"From school, Minister, sir. Harry and I went to Hogwarts together, although he was a year ahead of me. I guess you could say that we were good aquaintances."

Harry let go of Luna's hand and turned to his boss, smiling. "Friends and allies. That's what we were."

He could see Luna smile brightly out of the corner of his eye at his words. Perhaps she still felt bad about not having many friends back at Hogwarts, Harry guessed. He felt slightly dazed at her smile, and smiled back before listening to the Minister's response.

"Allies??"

"Yes, allies. You see, back in my fifth year, Luna fought alongside me in the Department Of Mysteries."

His eyes widened and he turned to Luna. "You did?!"

"Yes, I did. But, um, Minister?"

"Yes?"

"We're supposed to be discussing Harry's job."

"Wha? Oh, ah, yes, your job, Harry." he murmured, facing Harry. "Basically, Miss Lovegood has a very dangerous, obsessive stalker. The Ministry has hired an Auror, you, to protect her until we can catch this stalker. So you'll follow Miss Lovegood around, protect her, watch her, accompany her to places, things like that. Got it, Potter?" Harry ran through it all in his head. It seemed easy enough, even if he thought it was a pure waste of his time, to follow around a starstruck witch who is bombarded by paparazzi 24/7.

"...Got it. When do I start?"

"Now. Miss Lovegood will fill you in on everything else you need to know. G'day." he said, and dismissed himself from the office, glancing at Luna once more before closing the door behind him.

Harry slowly turned to face Luna, who had sat herself back on the surface of his desk. "So ... erm ... what exactly am I to do now?"

"Oh, it's as simple as the Rotfang Conspiracy. You just follow me wherever I go, take me to the places I need to be, and pretty much be my bodyguard. At the end of the day, you'll come back to my house, where you'll sleep in the guest room, and then---"

"--Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't sign up for an all-night deal."

Luna smiled, her eyes as dreamy and captivating as ever. "Too late, Harry. Besides, the Minister said that you don't have anyone or anything to come home to at the end of the day, so what's the big deal? Do you still have Hedwig?"

He nodded.

"She can stay with us. I've got an owl, too. Five of them, actually. Hedwig can keep company with them. Any other pets?"

He nodded.

"Like what?"

"Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes."

"Wow. He gave it to you in his will?"

"He didn't have a will. Fawkes chose me."

"Even more amazing. But, uh, you can bring Fawkes along if you like, nothing in my house will mind."

" ...Alright." Harry sighed, giving in. "So what now?"

Luna jumped off the desk, back arching. She landed directly in front of Harry. He noticed that she was only a few inches shorter then him, which was saying something, since Harry was about 6 foot even. "I've got a banquet to go to tomorrow after a photoshoot. Therefore, we are going to have to go shopping. I doubt you have anything fancy, do you?"

"Erm, no ... why?"

"Because you'll be going with me, idiot! I need a nice dress and robe, and you need some dress robes too. Oh don't be silly, I'm paying for it." she said as she noticed Harry filing through the money pouch attatched to his belt.

"So ... when do we go?"

"Now."

"Oh."

In Diagon Alley, Harry began to notice that Luna was very different than she was at Hogwarts. She didn't talk of absurd creatures and theories. In fact, Luna stayed kind of quiet. They walked through the crowds, quite a few heads turning and people shouting as they passed. Luna kept her hood up to cover the sides of her face, and kept a deathgrip on Harry's right arm as they barreled through the alley. The two stopped in many shops, most of them extremely expensive or extremely odd. Harry realized that they were now headed into Knockturn Alley.

"Uh, Luna?"

"Yes?"

"We're headed for Knockturn."

"I know."

"Why?"

"We're shopping." she said simply.

"In Knockturn?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"For clothes."

"I got that."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Knockturn's a dodgy place, Luna. I don't think you wanna go in there."

"I do it all the time."

"...Alright." he replied as they passed the askew sign, that now read ' ockt rn'.

They passed an old man with moldy teeth, whom Luna greeted warmly with a hug before walking on down the line of blackened shops. "Did you know that man?" Harry asked as they turned a corner.

"No, I didn't."

His eyes widened. "Then why did you hug him!?!"

"He looked like he needed a hug."

"That's dangerous!"

"You're the one that's supposed to protect me from danger." Luna replied cooly. She looked up. "Ah, here we go."

She yanked harry into a shop titled, 'The Bloth-Drikkan Click'. Harry had never walked into a store so Gothic and elaborate. The carpet was made of red velvet with swirling black designs that moved when you stepped on them. The walls were draped over with silk shawls of midnight blue and silver. There were no windows besides a stained-glass skylight that Harry was sure he had seen back in Hogwarts in the Slytherin common room in his second year. Everything that wasn't an article of clothing stood on a marble pedestal of it's own, that rotated slowly to give a full view of the item. Clothes were lined on racks against the walls, and Harry could see no sign of a register.

"Isn't it gorgeous? A little too plain, for my tastes, but this place has excellent dress robes, Harry."

_Wait ... plain?!?_

Luna took Harry by the arm, and lead him into a backroom that was concealed by a flowing silk drapery. It was full of dresses of every size and colour, shape and ... errr ... something else. There was a folding barrier near the corner for changing.

"I find all my dresses back here." she stated as she began to browse.

The blonde girl finally picked a few dresses to try on after what seemed to Harry like hours. He thought it was stupid that he had to accompany her on a shopping trip anyways. Luna appeared from behind the folding barrier.

"So ... what do you think?"

Harry turned around, a barely audible gasp escaping his lips.

Luna was wearing a glittering, baby-blue dress that ruffled to a diagonal end at her knees, showing off a small slit of her right thigh. It was lined with white glitter at the hems, so sparkling and breathtaking as if it was magical. (Which, Harry guessed, it was.) The top fitting her form extremely well, and matching elbow-length gloves adorned her forearms and wrists.

She was gorgeous.

"Luna, you ... you look amazing."

She smiled. "As good as a corkscrew?"

"Uhm ... what?"

"Nevermind, at least I look good. Because this is the one I want."

"Alright, let's go buy it then."

After purchasing Luna's dress robes and Harry's as well, they left Knockturn and Diagon Alley via broomstick. At first, Harry wondered where Luna learned to fly, for she dipped at odd angles and always kept her right arm at her side. Also, she didn't straddle her broomstick the same way most people did. Luna sat sideways with her legs folded under her, so she was perched on her knees. When questioned, Luna simply stated, "Just in case a Snorkack comes by." As if Harry knew what that meant.

Eventually, Luna pointed downward and shouted, "That house by the lake, Harry!!"

Both of them swerved and tilted down, aiming for the castle-like house that was next to a large, black pond through the clouds. They reached it faster than Harry had anticipated, and he had to pull up so he wouldn't crash into a sculpture of a house-elf that looked suprisingly like Dobby.

Harry dismounted his broom silently, careful not to let the bags he was holding be jostled too much. Unlike Harry, Luna crashed headfirst into the ground, her slim body arching off the grass as she tumbled forward. Her legs buckled when the broom zoomed out from under her. Harry caught the broom as it swept by his face, running over to help Luna. Luna's skirt had flown up, showing blue panties with large purple radishes all over them. Harry blushed and supressed a laugh.

"Are you alright?"

The blonde recollected herself, taking Harry's hand and standing up. She burst into laughter. "That was so much fun! We should do that again!!"

Harry gave her a look of confusion before looking up at the building they were in front of.

A huge, stone mansion stood before them. Blue tapestries hung from every stained-glass window, striped with dark gold. The entrance was a handsome set of ebony double doors. Harry took to note that the knocker was shaped like a Raven, and that it stood in front of the Hogwarts insigna.

"You ... You live here?!" he gasped as they walked through the entrance. Harry's emerald eyes took in everything there was. He was suprised that it wasn't as odd as he suspected from Luna. The floors were lined with black velvet carpets, and on the walls hung portraits of famous witches and wizards. He recognized quite a few, especially Dumbledore's painting and a painting of a young Tom Marvolo Riddle.

"Yes, I live here." she said, her voice airy as they began to ascend the main stairs that were in front of them. Harry was just following where Luna went, trying to look at everything at once without being rude or obvious. Harry lived in a large house, but nothing like this! "This way, Harry."

Harry glanced over and followed the blonde head in front of him down a darkened corridor. There was a door labeled, 'Quibbler Offices' on the far right. "Your father still working on The Quibbler?" he questioned with a grin.

Luna stopped suddenly. "No, he's dead. I took the job up and business is going quite well."

"Oh ... err ... that's, um, good then ..."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"Here we are."

Harry looked forward. The two were in a long, thin hallway, lit with glowing blue candles against the walls. "Where are we?"

"West wing." Luna said, opening the door to her right. "Come in. Put the bags on the bed." Harry walked inside. They were in a cozy bedroom with walls lined with even more portraits of people, including another portrait labled 'Albus Dumbledore'. Harry recognized two people, a witch and a wizard, who both had the same physical attributes as Luna. "Those are my parents." she added dreamily, cocking her head over to the paintings that Harry was staring at. "Their faces are all around the house. Feel free to go to them for advice if need be."

He did not understand what she meant once again, but thought it better not to ask. Harry looked to his right, spotting the blue-sheeted bed and placing Luna's bags on it. "So ... this is your bedroom?"

"Yes. Your's is right across the hall."

"Oh."

"It's quite late, actually. Why don't you take your things and go to sleep?"

"Err, alright then. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"That would be lovely." she stated, dreamily yet again as she swept over to her warbrobe. "Close the door on your way out, and have a nice night, Harry."

"You too, Luna."

"Oh, and Harry?"

Harry looked back right before shutting the door. "Yes?"

She smiled, her teeth pearly white and her wide eyes sparkling. Luna looked like a true model. "Thank you for doing this. Maybe I'll be able to rest easy tonight, knowing that you'll be here."

He nodded and smiled back. "Not a problem." he whispered before shutting the door, and walking across the hall to his new bedroom. _There's something off about her ... what happened to the girl I knew at Hogwarts?_

A/N: Nyahaha. Luna is supposed to be this way. You'll find out why she's so OOC later. Comments?


	2. Snakes

A/N: Here's chapter two, folks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Harry had been sleeping rather well. He had dreamt of his days back at Hogwarts, playing Quidditch against Slytherin, the wind in his hair, the Snitch just out of his grasp...but all of it was cut away when a large crash came from across the hall, followed by a high-pitched scream. Harry woke with a start, whipping his wand out from under his pillow and leaping out of bed. "Luna?!" 

Another scream was heard. Harry ran out of his room and across the small hallway, bursting into Luna's bedroom without a second thought, wand at the ready. He gasped. Before him were seven emerald-green snakes, the same colour as Harry's eyes. Luna was on the bed, dressed in her slim blue nightgown, recoiling in fear at the sight of the snakes, which were approaching the bed and hissing, attempting to jump up at her. There was a large, unwrapped, black box next to the large snakes, and a piece of parchment next to Luna on the bedspread. She screamed again as one latched onto her ankle with it's teeth, drawing blood immediatly. "Harry!" she cried as she backed away, pointing her wand at the snake. "Help! I've tried every spell I can think of!"

Harry advanced. "Stupefy!" he shouted, but the spell richoteched off of one of the snakes and hit a portrait behind Harry's ear, grazing his flesh.

"I think they are impervious to magic!"

Harry sighed, launching forth and ripping the snake off of Luna's ankle, throwing it against the wall. It hissed it's warning and slithered back with the others, all now focused on Harry, their red beady eyes darting between him and Luna.

_"...Stop attacking us..." _Harry hissed, concentrating on the snakes. Luna's wide eyes widened even more. _"...Retreat back to where you came from. You do not belong here. Go. Now...Leave!"_

All seven snakes immediatly paused, before slithering off around Harry's feet and slipping out into the hall, quickly disappearing down the corridor.

Luna gasped for breath, wiping the sweat from her brow. She stepped off of the bed, fixing her nightgown more modestly before pulling Harry into a light hug. "Thank you so much." she whispered. "Snakes just ... I'm more afraid of them then almost anything else. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have freaked out like that. I'm sorry."

Harry pocketed his wand and smiled. "No problem. But ... where did they come from?"

The blonde pointed over to the large black box in the corner. "I took a shower, and when I came out, that was on the floor. Being stupid, I unwrapped it after reading the card that was attatched to it. Then... ta-da, we have snakes. Magical snakes."

"What did the card say?"

Luna reached over to grab it, handing it to Harry. It read;

Dear Miss Luna Lovegood;

Here is a little present for you. It'll be fun watching you try to handle it. Hope it works out for you, they can be a little ... feisty.

Good Luck and best of wishes.

Harry reread the letter. "I can't recognize the handwriting even though it seems familiar. The language used suggests a high-class upbringing and a well-educated male, most likely left-handed." he stated, folding the letter and placing it in his pocket.

"Wow. I didn't know you could do that."

"Well ... erm ... it's sorta my job, Luna."

"Oh, right. But ... you're a Parselmouth?!"

"Err ... yeah."

"...Wow."

"Oh! I almost forgot!" he exclaimed, taking the note back out. He pointed his wand at it and whispered,"Reveal Yourself." Nothing happened. Harry swore under his breath and put the card away once again. "Nevermind. There are no magical traces on it."

"...Thank you, Harry."

"Really, it's ok. Everyone has something that they fear."

"What's yours?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Would I ask if I didn't?"

"Some people do."

"I don't. So what is it you fear?"

"I fear power."

"That is something noble to fear."

"That's not why I fear it."

"You really didn't need to tell me that, though, did you?" Luna replied quickly with a smile, patting Harry on the cheek quickly before looking around. "It's pretty early, you can get some sleep if you want, but I have to get ready for a photoshoot in a few hours. Alright?"

"Alright. But I don't need anymore sleep, Luna, thank you."

"Should we get dressed then go to breakfast?"

"That sounds like a plan."

* * *

Harry chose to wore a black, slim-fitting longsleeve shirt and black slacks with his usual deep crimson robe over them, but immediatly felt outdressed at seeing Luna's attire. She was wearing a long silver gown that reached the floor and even farther, flowing down and rippling at her hidden feet. Her blonde hair was swept up in a loose bun that was inlaiden with silver ribbons. Luna cocked her head to the side, taking in Harry's appearance. "What are you staring at, Harry?" 

He blinked and stuttered. "U-Uh ... err ... nothing. So ...where do we go now?"

"Down to the dining hall. It's on the first floor, directly on your right once you enter the house. Shall we go down?"

"Um ... okay, then."

Luna smiled back at him, the smile he has seen in so many papers, and linked arms with Harry, showing him the way.

* * *

The breakfast was delicious, and it reminded Harry of the food back at Hogwarts long ago. They chatted about Luna's career, and Harry's career, and the days back at Hogwarts while having breakfast. Harry was informed that they were going to the Witch Weekly headquarters in Diagon Alley, and they were simply apparating, but they must fly into the wizard village a few miles out because Luna's house had protection spells placed on it, much like Hogwarts.

* * *

They walked into the bustling headquarters of The Witch Weekly, arms linked. Harry leaned down to Luna. "So ... err ... what do I do?" he asked, confused as he followed Luna past the front desk, giving the secretary a nod as they entered a pair of golden swinging doors, into a long and winding hallway. 

"Just make sure no one is following us for now." she whispered. "During the photoshoot, you can just sit back until I'm done, and then we can get something to eat before----"

"--Is that Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood!?!? Together?!?!? Oh, dear Merlin!!!" someone shouted as a bright flash of light invaded both their eyes. When Harry regained his eyesight, a stout and old wizard stood before them, with a large silver camera in hand. "Oh, this'll make the front page, it will!" he cried, snapping another picture.

Luna elbowed past him, annoyed, dragging a blustered Harry along. "You're also supposed to help me deal with people like that." she hissed. Harry gulped and nodded, watching Luna's large raddish earrings swing on her earlobes angrily.

They passed a few thresholds of large rooms. The rooms had a few people in some of them, getting pictures taken or narrating to their quills furiously, the pens scratching at the paper loudly. When they finally arrived at the room, Harry knew what to do to do his job correctly from Luna's ranting about the photographer. Harry had guessed that she didn't like getting her picture taken by suprise.

"Here we are." she said, gesturing inside the large, black-painted room. Against one wall was what Harry guessed to be the photo area, with a few chairs (that were draped in black sheets) in front of a few tall, thin lamps that were pointed at the sheeted chairs. A man with another camera stood before them. He smiled, his wavy brown hair obscuring his face.

"There you are, Miss Lovegood! Oh, and you brought a visitor! I heard a rumour that you were hiring an auror from the Ministry. I guess that it's true?"

Luna curtsied, something Harry swore she would never actually do, and smiled back at the young wizard. "Yes. Harry, I want to introduce to you my photographey, Mr. Francis Adams. Francis, meet Mr. Harry Potter."

Harry extended his hand to shake the wizard's, smiling politely. "Good to meet you, sir."

"It's good to meet you too! Mr. Potter, sit back here, if you please." he said, gesturing over to a bench against the wall opposite of the photography area. Harry nodded and went to sit down. "And Luna, if you please."

The blonde witch nodded also and walked over in front of the lamps. Francis whispered a spell unknown to Harry and pointed his wand at Luna. Harry was about to shout to Luna, until all that happened was a fan-like breeze flew in Luna's face. He regained his calm. Luna, seeing Harry's reaction, chuckled.

"Now, let us begin."

* * *

A/N: Short chapter, I know I know. It's gonna get going soon.


	3. Bad Feelings

A/N: Sorry it took so long, I've been uber busy. Yeah, I finished Deathly Hallows. I'm gonna disregard it for this fic, even though it was a good book 'cept for the epilogue. Here ya go!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

The photoshoot didn't take as long as expected in Harry's mind. He spent his time watching Luna get photos taken of her at every single angle possible, with every single shade of lighting possible, and every single hairstyle possible. He wondered how Luna put up with it all, the directions from the photographer, the constant poking and prodding of the fashion expert, and the frequent redoings of her makeup and hair from the cosmotology witches surrounding her. Oddly enough, Luna seemed to enjoy herself. Every once in awhile she would smile at Harry and give him a small wave to tell him that she was alright.

This Luna was so different from the girl Harry knew at Hogwarts. The quirky, distracted girl at Hogwarts with an odd fashion sense and her head in the clouds had turned into an attentive, social butterfly who wore the latest fashions and basically set the trends of the Wizarding world as a whole. And this was only from what Harry had gathered after remeeting her and following her for a day and a half.

"Alright, that's a wrap! Owls will be sent if we need a re-shoot, seeya!"

Luna broke into a dazzling smile and jumped off her chair, walking past the cameraman and over towards Harry. Harry, for a moment, thought that she was floating from the way she sauntered over to him. The blonde held out a slim hand with baby blue nails that looked sharp enough to kill. "Want to go get something to eat, Harry?" she asked, her voice airy. He nodded, a small smile on his lips in return, taking her hand as he stood up. "There's a small cafe north of Gringotts that I've always wanted to try. We can only stay for awhile, though. You remember that banquet I told you about when you took the job?" Harry nodded. "It's tonight, at 7:00. We'll have to go back to my house to get ready. Is that alright?"

Harry sighed as Luna linked arms with him, leading him out of the door. "You're the boss."

* * *

"So, err ... Luna. About this stalker ... do you have any information on him?"

They were sitting outside on the balcony above the busy lane of Diagon Alley. The cafe was fairly crowded, and Harry noticed that everyone their was obviously very rich, from the way they dressed down to the way they talked. Luna's smile fell slightly, casting a glance out to the sky, her wide blue eyes drooping. She sighed. "Not really. Except that I've most likely met him before and that he's probably a year or two older then me, that I went to Hogwarts. And he knows alot about me. That I'm afraid of snakes. That my favourite colour is blue. Who I had a crush on back in Hogwarts. My usual haunts. Things like that, things a stalker would normally know."

His eyes widened. "Who you had a crush on in Hogwarts? That's ... a bit extreme, don't you think?" Harry questioned. Truth be told, he was now longing to find out who Luna had a crush on. The curiousity he had as a boy never really died down, but he knew it would be rude to ask right now. Maybe some other time.

Luna took a sip of her rose-tinted drink and shrugged. "I guess. Especially because I never told anyone. I had no friends, so there was no one I could trust, so I don't now how anyone could possibly find out ..."

"...Err, was it in the way you acted towards this person?"

"I doubt it. I was shy back then, but even so I was practically throwing myself at this person, and even he didn't notice. Although, heh, he is a bit dense at times. Or, he was. I don't know anymore." she said, glancing at Harry with an airy smile. She looked so ... out of place, like she was here on accident, and she seemed to glow a bit. Harry shook his head, maybe his glasses were foggy or something, he could've sworn he had seen Luna wink at him...

Harry's attention was easily distracted though, when his eyes fell on a thin, cloaked figure that was sitting at a small table behind Luna. A familiar-looking girl with short black hair was talking animatedly, but the figure wasn't listening. Their face was covered in shadows from the hood, but Harry knew where those eyes were looking.

Straight at Luna.

A part of Harry told him to ignore it, but the sensible part of his mind got the better of him. He leaned forward towards the blonde in front of him. "Luna." he whispered urgently. "We should get out of here. There's a person behind you in black robes. Normally I wouldn't pay attention, but I'm getting a weird feeling about this."

Harry could see her eyes widen with fear, her face paling. She nodded, taking Harry's offered hand as they stood up. Harry quickly threw a galleon on the table as they made their way off of the balcony. The hair on Harry's neck stood on end when he looked back. The girl and the figure also stood up, following closely behind. For anyone else it would've seemed like they just happened to be leaving as well, but Harry knew better. He whipped out his wand from his belt, pointing it directly at the robed figure. "I'm warning you once, stay away from her." he hissed.

There was a pause, and Harry felt someone tugging on his arm. "Harry, please, let's go, we don't want to start a scene ..." Luna pleaded. The people around them were staring, whispering to themselves and pointing at them. "Come on, please, we should leave, I don't like it here. Harry!"

"Fine." he growled, lowering his wand. The girl beside the figure looking bewildered and confused. Luna linked arms with him, practically dragging him down the stairs and out of the cafe. Harry couldn't help but notice that she was shaking.

Harry had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

It had taken hours for Luna to get ready. Literally, HOURS. Harry himself took five minutes, even though Luna fussed over his hair for a great deal afterwards, straightening his tie and adjusting his robes, mumbling something about how he needed to eat more. It reminded him a bit of Mrs. Weasley, actually. But he didn't know what in the world took Luna so long to prepare for the banquet.

He was waiting in the lounge outside of Luna's bedroom when she walked in. Harry almost lost his breath. Almost. Her hair was curled into soft ringlets, not a strand out of place. The blonde locks seemed to glitter in the light, shimmering and breathtaking.

Luna was wearing a glittering, baby-blue dress that ruffled to a diagonal end at her knees, showing off a small slit of her right thigh. It was lined with white glitter at the hems, so sparkling and breathtaking as if it was magical. (Which, Harry guessed, it was.) The top fitting her form extremely well, and matching elbow-length gloves adorned her forearms and wrists.

She was gorgeous.

"You like?"

"Uhm ... yeah! You, er, look great, Luna.."

"Thank you!"

"So ... err ... what now?"

"We leave, of course!"

Harry smiled sheepishly and nodded, allowing Luna to drag him by the arm out of the bedroom. On the way down to the main hall, Luna was reciting proper etiquette for tonight to Harry. Just smile and nod and what anyone says, keep close, watch everyone carefully but don't be too obvious, always keep your drink within sight, don't let Luna wander off by herself (as she did on frequent occasion), etc. The black-haired boy struggled to remember everything she was throwing at him, talking quite fast as she pulled her shoes on. How did she walk in those things?!

Once outside, Harry paused in his tracks. "Where does the banquet take place?" he questioned, biting his lip and running a hand through his mop of untidy midnight hair. Luna stopped, wincing before turning around to face him.

"Oh yeah ... about that."

The bad feeling got worse.

"What is it, Luna?"

"It's ... it's at the Malfoy Manor, outside of London." she whispered, glancing to the side. It was obvious that Luna knew Harry would not be happy with the situation at hand, but she also knew that it couldn't be avoided.

"I know damn well where it is." he said, voice low. He had quite a few raids in his records that had occured at the Manor, most of them fruitless, but Harry was still suspicious. "Why are you going?"

She sighed. "He's helped sponsor many of the things I have been doing. Modeling, for example. Without him, I'd still be at the agency, sitting in line between Celestina Warbleck and one of The Weird Sisters, waiting for an audition that I knew I would never get. So you're going to have to deal with him tonight, Harry, okay?"

"I ... but ... alright, Luna. I'll try."

"Good. Now, we're going to Apparate, mmkay? Get ready."

"Hm."

"One ... two ... three!"

* * *

They appeared directly in front of wrought-iron gates, adorned with gleaming snakes made out of stone, who's eyes seemed to follow you when you moved. The massive gates were open, but a stuttering old man in green velvet robes was checking people's names off on a clipboard as they passed. The two walked up to him. "Names?"

"Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter."

The man's eyes scanned the list. "Mr. Potter is not on the list, Miss Lovegood. He cannot enter."

She crossed her arms and shrugged. "He happens to be my bodyguard. Mr.Malfoy will understand."

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I can't--"

"Luna!!" a voice cried.

The stunning girl looked up to see a man with slicked-back, platinum-blonde hair in a set of black robes with green trim walking towards them. He stepped past the gates in their direction, placing a hand on the old man's shoulder. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked. The older, stuttering man looked over his shoulder.

"Miss Luna Lovegood here is on the list, sir, but her friend---"

"---Bodyguard." she corrected.

"---Is not on the list."

Harry glanced to the ground, shuffling his feet. "He's my bodyguard, Mr. Malfoy, surely he can...?"

Draco looked to Harry with a grimace, obviously not wanting to see him near he mansion. But the pleading look that Luna gave seemed to sway him, and he nodded grimly. Throwing his shoulders back and taking a deep breath. "Let him in, Gurldwall. I know him."

"But, sir, he--"

"--I said let him in! Or should I contact the Ministry about certain secrets about Mrs. Gurldwall and her habit concerning something with gillyweed and Quidditch balls?" he threatened. The man immediatly shut up, and Draco waved a hand, gesturing for Luna and Harry to follow him through the gates.

* * *

Once they entered, Harry was almost breathless at how beautiful the main hall was, where the ball was taking place. Everytime he was here for a raid, it was much less impressive. Glittering ice sculptures that never melted lined the walls, along with portraits of the entire extended Malfoy family. The floor was carved ebony, with snakes etched into the wood. The walls were black with dark green trim, and Harry began to notice a colour theme. It was expected, after all. All the Mafloys were Slytherins.

There were a few small tables here and there, with green candles with blue flames as centerpieces. Harry recognized a few of the people from The Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly. Luna waved to a few and smiled with that brillantly false grin, arm in arm with Harry, ignoring the whispers when she pulled him closer. They followed Draco to a small table in the corner of the main hall, with dim lights and low, airy music playing in the background. Harry made to move Luna's chair out for her, but Draco beat him to it, glaring at him. Harry stiffened and nodded, sitting down next to Luna, while Malfoy took her other side, sitting a bit too close for comfort in Harry's mind, but Luna took no notice.

"I'm glad you could make it, Luna." he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Harry's wand hand twitched, just waiting for the slightest reason to curse him. Not in jealousy, but more of in annoyance and hatred. Even so, he had a bad feeling about the level of familiarity between the two blondes. "It's an honour to have you here."

"Thank you, Mr.Malfoy, it's an honour to be here as well."

"And what a pleasant suprise to have Potter here, too. Tell me, Potter, when did you start working for Luna?"

"Two days ago."

"That soon? And you already seem so comfortable with eachother." he said, gesturing to where Harry and Luna's arms were linked. Harry made to pull away from embarassment, but Luna kept a firm hold. She seemed very uncomfortable at the moment, taking nervous glances between Harry and Draco, and sometimes behind her, looking worried. He squeezed her hand to reassure her, giving her a small smile. She smiled back slightly.

"Well, we did know eachother in Hogwarts, Mr.Malfoy."

"Oh, please, how many times have I told you to call me Draco?"

Luna bit her lip and nodded. "Sorry, Mr-- I mean, Draco."

Harry glanced around the room quickly, just checking to keep Luna's safety. As the two kept talking as if he wasn't there, Harry noticed many people staring at them, especially at their linked arms. Whispers were uttered behind gloved hands, obviously the latest gossip of Luna and Draco.

This was going to be a bad night.

* * *

A/N: Review!


	4. Too Close For Comfort

A/N: Haven't updated in EVER, I'm so sorry!

* * *

  
The food was served, but Harry wasn't feeling very hungry. He looked over at Luna, who was politely nibbling at a small piece of chocolate cake, still glancing around nervously, as if waiting for something to happen. Harry leaned in. "So, what is this banquet for, anyways? Fundraiser, or something?" he whispered. Luna swallowed a bite and shrugged.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Draco's holding this banquet as a fundraiser for the Quibbler, didn't I tell you?"

The Gryffindor choked, green eyes wide. "Wh-what?! Malfoy actually reads that?" he questioned, shocked. Luna pouted with silver lips and looked away, nodding. Harry paused, suddenly feeling very guilty. "Oh, no, Luna, not like that, I d-didn't mean it like that! I'm just suprised that... he's interested in the subjects brought up in the Quibbler, not that it isn't a good paper, obviously..."

She looked over and smiled lightly. "It's quite alright, Harry, I know my paper can be a bit ... eccentric, at times."

A blatant understatement.

Draco Malfoy appeared from out of a door across the room, quickly making a beeline for Luna and Harry's table, which he was seated at as well. A black-gloved hand on Luna's shoulder caused her to jump and look back. "Oh, Draco, don't startle me like that!" she gasped, smiling anyways, a thin hand over her heart. The blonde man laughed, and for a moment it sounded true, as he dragged out his seat next to Luna and sat down, smiling.

"I'm terribly sorry, Luna, I swear I meant no harm."

"Swear to God?" he snorted, not being able to control himself. A fleet of childish rage swam over Draco's face, but he fought it down, vein in his temple twitching in repressed anger. Harry thought it reminded him of Uncle Vernon, causing him to smile. He quickly tripped over his words when shot a fatal glare from Luna's pretty blue eyes, and the pure wrongness of anger on Luna's face was enough to make Harry promise to keep her happy. Anger just didn't suit her. Malfoy glared too, but only for a moment.

"Well, the initial feast is done, and I'm planning to make a small speech, then move the desserts and drinks to the side for some while the orchestra starts playing. A banquet can't be a banquet without some fun." he laughed, winking. Harry's hand itched for his wand. It was true, he had never gotten over his hatred for his school rival, and now that he had an excuse to curse Malfoy if he came to close, he was just dying to use it...

"Oh! That sounds lovely!" Luna exclaimed, eyes wide, clapping her hands together. The Malfoy smirked and nodded, moving to take Luna's empty glass and grabbing the wine bottle from the middle of the table, taking the liberty of pouring Luna another glass of the drink, and Harry wondered... just how many drinks Draco had already poured for Luna, exactly? "Thank you, Mr-, uhm, Draco. Thank you, Draco." she said with a rather absentminded giggle, looking up at the other blonde and taking her drink eagerly. "You know, you've really changed since we first met."

"I'd certainly like to think so. I was an awful prat."

And still are... Harry thought to himself.

"And you were simply... weird."

Still ever-so-polite, aren't we, Malfoy?

Luna twitched visibly, but held her tongue, and Harry could see her try to restrain her outburst. "I was rather loony, wasn't I?" she said airily, running a sharp blue fingernail along the rim of the glass, humming with the haunting echo of her finger on the edge. Draco laughed and nodded.

"But it doesn't matter, love, because... well, look what you've grown into!" Draco exclaimed, grinning and gesturing to Luna with his gloved hands. "You're a smart, shining, and well with a wand, and you're outrageously beautiful, and you've been holding a celebtrity status just a year after Hogwarts! That takes one amazing woman, Luna, let me tell you." he said, smirking, as if he actually thought it was a good compliment, instead of just a comparison.

The witch blushed prettily, but Harry easily saw behind it. She was a tad uncomfortable.

"Th-thank you, Draco, you're too kind..."

"Oh no, not at all, just appreciative of the talent in front of me." he said smoothly, fixing his tie. Harry groaned.

Stop, Malfoy, now it's just weird.

After a few minutes of aimless chatting, dessert-testing, and wine-drinking, Harry's ears twitched as he heard a dark, beautiful song begin to play, and he looked around, only to find that the sound seemed to come from the walls, as though surrounding the entire crowd. He was vaguely reminded of Fawkes singing, but decided it was too dark to compare to the lovely bird. Luna snapped him out of his reverie with her airy voice. "Ah, is this the music?" she asked, swaying from side to side with the creeping beat. "It's lovely."

Draco smirked at her. "I rather like it too."

Harry rolled his eyes.

And in a blink of an eye, Draco had taken Luna from her seat and whisked her away into the center of the room, as the tables lifted and spread, along with their occupants and chairs (and yet only a few seemed at all suprised). Luna looked over her shoulder and waved at Harry, telling him she was okay. Harry watched as the two blondes began to dance, and in the back of his mind he noticed that Luna seemed to be floating, heeled feet as smooth as wind on the floor, making her glide swiftly into Malfoy's steps.

The black-haired man had always been protective of Luna, he just didn't realize to what extent. When he heard of Ollivander and Luna in Azkaban, his first thought had been, "Not Luna." He'd always yelled when his friends made fun of her, true or not. Instead of inviting Ginny, or Hermoine, or Parvati, or Angelina, or Katie, or Cho to Slughorn's stupid little party, but he chose Luna. The lunatic. The freak.

Harry knew what that felt like.

But he slowly began to realize just how much he wanted to protect her. He'd get angry when Malfoy even touched her hand. And right now, he was more then angry, because Malfoy's hand had just slid lower from the small of her back, dangerously low, but just barely. Without even thinking, Harry stood up and strode over to them, dodging the other dancing couples and putting a hand on Malfoy's shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?"

The blonde-haired wizard turned, "Actually, we d-"

"-Not at all, Harry! Draco doesn't mind, does he?" she asked, and sent an icy glare to Malfoy, telling him to agree and flee, or disagree and lose his balls. Draco nodded and bowed out, obviously pissed, but he pressed a kiss to the top of Luna's hand before retreating. Harry stepped in with ease, a hand at her waist (lightly, less controlling and more respectful then Malfoy could ever hope to be), and began stepping to the beat with Luna. He was suprised that Luna could dance so well, extremely well, and it seemed that neither of them were following the other, instead moving as one on the floor, both of them leading in there own way. And it turned out flawlessly.

And for a brief moment, Harry swore that they were both skating above the floor, feet hovering a few inches as Luna moved gracefully with him.

The song ended, and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Luna led him back to their seats, taking a deep breath as she sat down. "I didn't know you could dance so well, Harry Potter. You seemed rather awkward at the Yule Ball."

"You were there?"

"Oh, no."

"How'd you know, then?"

Luna smiled, and it vaguely reminded Harry of Dumbledore's wise smile, back at Hogwarts. Her eyes seemed to twinkle like his, in the right light. "I just know things." she said simply with a shrug. "Hm. I'm getting quite bored. How are you feeling, Harry?"

"I, uh, I'm good either way, banquets aren't really my thing, y'know?"

"Mm. Too formal and uptight?" she suggested with a smile, reaching under the table to grab her purse and sling it over her shoulder. "As long as there's dancing, I'll be able to cope with almost anything!" Luna then stood up, moving to extend her hand to Harry. "If we slip out now, we can get out without running into Malfoy. Shall we go?" she asked. Harry nodded, smiling as he took her hand, following Luna out quietly among the crowd.

"We should go out through the courtyard, there are still some people out front." Harry whispered to her, glancing through the window next to the corner they hid themselves in. Luna was looking at the ceiling as Harry spoke and nodded, letting herself be led by the hand down a mostly-empty hall, swinging through a wrought-iron gate which led to the courtyard path. A few people were still lingering, sitting on the benches and looking at statues, chatting mindlessly to eachother, but Harry wasn't worried. He couldn't spot Malfoy anywhere.

Luna took the first step onto the grass, and Harry was amazed that the tall, thin heels of her shoes didn't sink in the ground. She turned and smiled, grasping his hand. "Follow me, Harry Potter." she said with a smile, large eyes glittering. For a moment, Harry's head spun, and he knew it wasn't the alchohol. They walked through the courtyard, deciding to follow the path through the small hedges for better cover, just in case. As they reached the rotunda in the middle, footsteps were heard behind them.

"Luna, I've been looking all over for you!"

Harry froze. Great. Malfoy.

They both turned in unison as the Slytherin came towards them. "Oh, Draco!" Luna exclaimed. "I... uhm..."

"Just going for a walk?"

Luna glanced over to Harry and shrugged, then turned her gaze back to Draco. "I was waiting by the table, but you hadn't come back for awhile, so I dragged Harry with me to come looking for you. I hope you don't mind." she said softly, lifting a gloved finger to play with a strand of her hair. "I got a message from my advisor, urgent business, and I must leave, but I really didn't want to go without saying goodbye!"

Harry gathered what she was up to, trying to say what Draco wanted to hear, acting as if she was nervous around him and truly didn't want to leave. Oddly enough, it worked, and Harry admired Luna's acting skills.

"Oh, how sweet of you, Luna! I'm sorry to see you leave, I've been having a wonderful time talking to you, and I must say, you are an amazing dancer. But I was hoping to catch a word with you, and since you're about to leave, could I borrow you for a moment?" he asked with a grin, although it turned to a leer when he looked at Harry. "I hope you don't mind?"

"Well, err, technically I'm not supposed to leave her side..."

"--And we really must go--" Luna said quickly, but she was already being led away by Draco.

"She'll be safe with me, Potter. Why don't you wait by the main doors? I'll see to leading her out once we're finished." he said, and Luna shrugged nervously, but gestured for him to go away with her hand. There wasn't really any other choice. Harry sighed, and walked back through the courtyard. But instead of heading out to the gates, he hid behind a hedge, squinting through the branches to watch the two. It was his job, after all. To watch over Luna.

Draco stopped to face Luna, a hand on her shoulder. Harry could barely make out what they were saying, only getting a few words...

"Luna, I would like to thank you for...." Harry heard a snatch of, and then, "...And you look lovely, I must say..."

The man put his hands in his pockets and looked up at the stars. He pointed to one of them and said something nondescript, causing Luna to put a hand to her mouth and giggle. Draco chuckled too, looking back at her with a grin. The-Boy-Who-Lived's green eyes widened when he saw Draco moving to step closer to Luna, and leaned down, whispering something in her ear. To Harry's admiration, Luna stepped away, saying how she really ought to be going. He could see Malfoy frown, but accept her dissmissal, kissing the back of her hand and bowing. Luna scurried away, passing the hedge Harry was behind, and she hissed. "I see you, so let's get out of here!"

Harry looked back, seeing Malfoy was gone and nodding, standing up from his crouch and following Luna down the hall from the courtyard, and, with the speed worthy of his FireBolt, they hurried out of the Malfoy Manor.


	5. Dream

Once they were down the long stone path that led to the street from Malfoy's house, Luna stopped and turned to face Harry. He blinked and looked at her, grinning. "That was a nice escape, wasn't it?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. He nodded.

"Felt a bit like I was back at Hogwarts, avoiding detention or something." he admitted. "Seems Malfoy's become more insufferable since school. Now is he not only a prat, he's a bloody creep." Luna laughed and nodded, taking off her gloves and wiping off her silver lipstick on the back of her hand. She smacked her lips and smiled, and Harry noticed that it wasn't as fake as the one she held for Malfoy. "Funny, he was usually the reason I had detention anyway."

Harry followed Luna absentmindedly when she started walking down the street, first pausing to kick her shoes off, holding them by the backs with two fingers as they walked. He watched her with interest as she sighed, relieved. "Oh, thank Merlin." the blonde gasped, and Harry smirked. "Things are bloody impossible to walk in."

"You don't mind walking barefoot?"

"Oh no, I usually prefer it. It's not smiled upon in most public places, though."

"But why wear those awful heels? N-Not that you don't look good in them." he stammered, cursing himself inwardly at how awkward he was. Luna just let out a light giggle and shrugged.

"It's all about the image, Mr. Potter." she said. "Speaking of-- well, not really, but- Who did you mostly have detention with? Most of the Ravenclaws were sent to Professor Sprout. I'm not really sure why."

He paused to think. "... Snape. Definately Snape. He'd usually be the one to give me detention anyways! I'm suprised my Quidditch record wasn't completely dismal, considering how many practices I missed. Though, I'd be getting detention at least once every week when Umbridge was there." he laughed. Luna cringed and made a disgusted noise. "Did you ever get detention?"

"Oh, me? Yes. I served detention quite often."

This suprised Harry.

"What for?"

"Oh, you know, not returning books, exploring the castle after curfew, going into the Forbidden Forest alot, stealing potions supplies... Nothing big, I guess, unless you count that one time..."

"That one time?"

"You never heard? I punched Cho Chang."

"What?!"

"Right in the nose." the blonde said, nodding. Harry swore he heard, "Served her bloody right." under Luna's breath. They turned a corner. "She made some nasty comment about my father, I forget exactly what it was, but I guess I got tired of hearing her talk, so I socked her in the face. Now, where would you like to go? The night is still young!" Luna smiled then, curling a few strands of hair behind her ear and out of her face.

The-Boy-Who-Lived blinked a bit dumbly, thrown off by the sudden change in subject. He decided not to question it, and supposed that Cho most likely deserved it (if it came from someone as nice as Luna). "Well, err... I'm not sure. I'll leave it up to you."

"Do you drink?"

"Uhm... yes."

She stopped, clapping her hands together. "Oh, that's absolutely perfect! Let's go to a Muggle bar. I've always wanted to see one!" Luna said excitedly, grabbing on to Harry's arm once again. He bit his lower lip and frowned.

"Luna, how old are you?"

"Why, I'm 22, two years younger then you!"

"Alright, then. Just wondering. Luna, I don't think we're properly dressed for a Muggle bar. They tend to be a bit more casual. How about a different night?" he suggested. To be honest, he was a bit antsy, there was a flush to Luna's cheeks that Harry recognized to be his joy, Luna nodded eagerly without complaint, although her eyes were fixated on the sky now.

"Alright! Although I could use a drink. We could go back to my house if you want to rest, or we could have ourselves a nightcap. Shall we?"

"Go ahead, we'll Apparate." he said, holding their linked arms closer while looking at Luna. She seemed to glow, like the moon, Harry thought, along with a thousand other metaphors in his head. As if he said it out loud (which he most certainly did not), Luna looked over at him with curious blue eyes, blushing a bit before looking away. She closed her eyes and stepped closer to Harry, a loud crack filling the air as they disappeared.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once they landed (right outside the Apparation wards for Luna's house), Harry lurched forward, stumbling to catch his balance. Luna stifled a laugh. "Oh, shut it, Luna." he said, smirking. "I still haven't gotten the hang of it. The only time I don't fall over when landing is if I run when I hit the ground."

"Then why don't you do that every time?" she asked. They began to walk up the path to the house and Luna skipped ahead.

"Because it looks a bit silly if it's not a serious situation." Harry replied, but Luna wasn't listening, already hopping up the steps and fiddling with the locks on the door. Once they were unlocked, she tapped the tip of her wand against the doorknob and whispered something. The doors parted. Harry walked up the steps. "Is this the only thing protecting your house?" he asked. Luna stepped inside and Harry gasped as the previously-unlit candles lit up across the walls as they entered. The doors swung shut behind them, making Harry jump.

"I have a few sensory wards to detect intruders, but nothing big. Should I get more?" the blonde asked in an airy tone, and Harry followed her up the main stairs, to the hall where both their rooms were.

"What about something to detect and block Dark Magic?"

"Well, that's not terribly useful here, I'm afraid." she said, opening her bedroom door and gesturing for Harry to come inside. He did so, hesitantly. "If Dark Magic was blocked, how would I hold my Quibbler functions? There are many Dark wizards out there, Harry Potter. Who's to say I don't know a few? You're practically glowing with Dark Magic, too."

"What? No I'm not!" he said. Luna let out a bemusing laugh and sauntered over to her wardrobe. She opened it and bent in, rummaging through her things.

"Yes, you are. Don't take insult, please, it's not a bad thing all the time. I assume it's from your connection to Lord Voldemort."

"Ex-connection. He's dead."

"So is my Mother, but I still feel connected to her."

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but found he didn't have anything to say to that. He frowned and watched as Luna pulled back from her wardrobe, two large green bottles in each hand. "Let's have a change of subject, shall we?" she cried, grinning like no tomorrow. The black-haired Auror squinted to read the labels of the bottles. Luna saw what he was doing and walked over to him. "_Merlin's Mix For Magical Madness._" she said. "It's my favourite!"

The blonde uncorked a bottle, and Harry sniffed the air. He crinkled his brow, being able to smell the alcohol without it being poured. "That's got to be way too strong for you, Luna!" he admonished. Luna shook her head, cocking her head to the side in a gesture for Harry to follow her. They left Luna's bedroom and ventured off down the corridor once again.

After a minute, they ended up in the kitchen, and it reminded Harry a bit of the kitchen at Grimmauld, but a bit bigger and much more hygienic. Luna put the bottles down on the counter, hopping up to open the cupboard above her. She couldn't get a grasp on the handle. "Harry, could you please help me? The fancy goblets are in here and I really wanna use them."

The Auror smiled and sighed, walking over and opening the cupboard. He grabbed the two silver goblets that Luna pointed to. Upon further inspection, he saw emeralds lining the edges. "These are amazing, Luna." he whispered as Luna took them and put them on the counter. She poured a bit of the green liquid into each glass, giving herself a generous amount.

"Thank you. They were a gift from Augustus Rookwood." she said absentmindedly, handing Harry a goblet. Harry paused.

"The Death Eater? Augustus Rookwood... sent you silver goblets. Silver goblets... with emeralds in them."

Luna nodded.

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Turns out he was a fan of my advertising for Borgin & Burkes, I think. He's a very nice man once you get to know him, really."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Borgin & Burkes? Luna, that's a really sketchy place. You don't want to be associated with them. Why do you know so many Dark Wizards?" he asked, raising the goblet to his nose and sniffing it, although he doubted there was poison in it. Old habits die hard.

"Well, Dark Wizards still hold more power then the regular wizard nowadays, even though Voldemort's gone. No one has taken them out of power yet. Power means connections. Connections mean money. Money means fame. And that's the game I'm in. So, therefore, I have to associate with Dark wizards on many an occasion. But, Harry, Dark magic does not always mean Dark people. I thought you would know that." she said quietly. Harry felt a bit guilty.

"I'm sorry, Luna, I didn't mean to insult you, I just.... I'm an Auror. As you said, it's my job to be paranoid."

Luckily, Luna laughed and nodded. "Yes, that it is. But for example, Draco's a rather Dark wizard. But do you really think he could actually do something _bad_, besides just pissing people off?" she asked. Harry choked back a laugh.

"Good point."

"I know." she said simply with a cheeky grin. "So, what should we drink to? You are my guest, so you may choose."

Harry thought for a moment. He raised his glass. "To old friends?" he asked. Luna cringed at the cheesy suggestion. "Then how about... to... er..."

"Constant vigilance?" piped Luna. Harry's eyes widened and he nodded. Luna raised her glass.

"TO CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" they shouted together, laughing as they both took a large gulp of their drinks. Harry coughed at the sharp taste, forcing it down so he wouldn't look like a fool in front of Luna. Luna had taken her sip with ease, letting out a sigh at the heat that ran through her. She looked up, observing Harry with glittering eyes (Harry thought vaguely on how eyes usually don't glitter).

"Is it too strong for you?" she asked in a concerned tone as Harry coughed again.

He shook his head. "J-Just needs some getting used to." he muttered, composing himself before taking another sip. He braced himself for it, and it wasn't so bad. A bit minty. Pleasant, though, after his 3rd sip, warming his throat as it went down. "It's actually not that bad."

Luna brightened up immediately, small hands clasped eagerly around her cup. "Isn't it?" she asked, taking another drink with a smile. It didn't seem right, Harry thought, seeing Luna so happy about alcohol. But she was an adult, and so was Harry, and he trusted Luna to take care of herself. "I love it."

"So, who's it a gift from this time? Anyone I know?" he joked. Luna just blinked at him for a moment.

"Actually, yes!" she said. Harry groaned. "My first bottle was given to me by Fred and George when I was a 5th year! I know it sounds young, but I had always been curious about drinking--"

"--So the twins gave you the strongest drink they could find? A whole _bottle _of it?"

"Mmhmm. At first it was a bit strong, but after awhile I started to really like it. Now I get it on my own!" the blonde said, a dazed-but-brilliant smile on her face. "Fred and George are quite funny. They were the only ones who could call me Loony without me minding."

Harry frowned. "I'm sorry that everyone tormented you in school, Luna." he whispered, taking another sip of his drink.

"I am too." she said, and Harry felt a bit awkward for a moment. The air was tense as they both looked at the floor, but the friendly air quickly came back when Harry heard Luna let out a giggle. "Harry!" she shouted. He looked up. "You have a tattoo!"

"What? I-- Oh, yeah, I do. I've got a few." he mumbled, embarassed. He had rolled his sleeves up at some point during the night, and a green snake was visible on his skin, wrapping around his right forearm and wrist. It's eyes were yellow, and it seemed to be crying a tiny drop of blood. Luna reached for his arm and Harry extended it, shivering at her cold fingers. She traced the tattoo with dainty hands, eyes wide, fascinated by it. "I-It's, uhm, to represent a basilisk. I fought one in, err, my 2nd year at Hogwarts, I think."

"Oh, I heard about that!" she whispered excitedly, finally pulling away to take a sip of her drink. "What other tattoos do you have?"

"I... erm... I've got two broomsticks and a snitch on my upper arm..." he trailed off, pointing to his right bicep. "... Got what's written on the Mirror Of Erised around my other arm... my parent's names and Sirius's on the back of my neck..."

Luna squinted. She'd see if she could glimpse it later.

"... And the Gryffindor crest on my back..."

Luna started putting together a mental image.

".. And a phoenix on my chest. That's it."

Her ears perked. "CanIseeit?" she blurted out, regretting it instantly. She looked away and finished off her drink. "

"Uhm... Maybe another time." Harry said with an awkward chuckle, watching Luna as she finished her drink and moved to fill the goblet again. "Do you have any tattoos?"

Luna shook her head and gulped half of the drink down. "Not yet. I was thinking of getting one, but I'm not sure. It could ruin my career."

"What do you mean?" he asked, finishing his drink. Harry's eyes widened as Luna finished her 2nd drink in one last chug.

"Well, it's hard to cover up magical tattoos, especially in certain outfits. My agent would lose his marbles over it. Which would be kind of funny." she said with a smile. There was a long pause, and Luna blinked slowly, smiling, her cheeks flushed.

"What is it?" Harry asked with a raised brow.

"I... I think I find myself rather drunk." she said, and Harry snorted. Luna giggled at this, biting her lower lip and looking up at Harry. Her eyes swerved to focus on him. "_You're _Harry Potter."

"... I know."

"I don't think you do. You're _Harry Potter_."

"I know."

"Well, what are you doing here?"

"Er... Protecting you."

"... Oh." she said, pouting.

"Luna? Are you okay?"

She looked up and nodded. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Don't listen to me. Want another drink?" she asked. Harry said no and she shrugged, beginning to put away the goblets and corking the bottles again. "I should probably stop as well. I drink too much anyhow."

Harry laughed. "I was wondering about that. You drank alot at Malfoy's party."

"He kept refilling my glass. What was I supposed to do? It was a Quibbler fundraiser, it wouldn't do for me to make him angry when the party's for me." she sighed. Harry understood. He stepped closer, a bit dizzy.

"Hey, uh, next time that starts to happen... want me to, I dunno, step in?" he offered. Luna smiled up at him, and for a moment, Harry felt like he was the most important man in the world. He passed it off as a drunken pause of emotion.

"I don't want to make it seem that I can't fend for myself, but that would be nice." she said, raising a hand to pat Harry on the cheek affectionately. "I'm sorry I'm so terribly useless."

Harry shook his head. "No, no, it's my job to protect you right now. Don't be sorry! It's... it's a bit endearing, really." the man muttered, blushing. Luna smiled and retracted her hand, watching Harry try not to lean into the touch. She frowned.

"Poor boy. All these years and still no one's shown you true affection."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Uhm, nothing." Harry muttered, and he felt a bit stupid. He decided it was his turn to change the subject, so he shuffled his feet and laughed. "So, uh, do you have any pets?"

Luna nodded. "I've got quite the family of Nargles living in the swamp out back! I've got a fair number of owls, they all like to live in the east tower." she said, gesturing vaguely upstairs with her hand.

"Wait, Nargles? You... you have them? They, uhm.... they actually exist?" he said slowly, trying not to offend her. Luna pouted, looking a bit hurt, and nodded.

"They're all probably asleep by now, but would you like to see them in the morning? You can come feed them with me!" she said excitedly.

Harry grinned. "Sounds perfect. We should probably be, err, getting to bed, it's kind of late...." he trailed off, then took out his pocketwatch and glanced at it. 1:04 am. "Well, kind of early, actually." he added.

Luna yawned. "Mm, that's a good idea. You're very smart, Harry Potter." the blonde whispered, and twirled on her bare heel to start walking out of the kitchen. Harry blinked, then rushed to follow her to their rooms.

xxxx

He dreamt of Luna. He was chasing her through a thick fog on the grounds of Hogwarts. His glasses were absent and everything was blurry, except for Luna. He could see her clearly when she wasn't hidden by fog or trees, fixated on flashes of her blonde hair through leaves and branches as he chased her into the Forbidden Forest. She was laughing, shouting at Harry to keep up, to catch her, and humming a familiar tune that Harry couldn't quite place, but he knew he didn't like, because he let out a growl and ran faster whenever Luna started humming.

The scene suddenly changed.

Harry found himself in the Department of Mysteries. He was staring up at the Veil. It was fluttering, but there was no wind. And no whispers. Harry was perplexed, there were always whispering voices coming from the arch. But it was completely silent. He couldn't even hear himself breath. But then he heard the sound of soft chimes clinking together, emanating from the Veil. Something was in there. He watched with anticipation, waiting for something to...

A foot formed through the ripped fabric, then a slender leg, another foot, and slowly, a full person. It was Luna. She was smiling down at Harry. "You waited for me." she said. Harry didn't know what she was talking about, but he replied anyways, and his answers felt honest.

"I'll always wait for you, Luna. You're my--"

His sentence was cut off in the blink of an eye, and again the scene of the dream changed. There was Luna again, but something was wrong. She was on her knees, bent over a body and cradling it's head in her arms. She was sobbing. Harry stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Luna--"

"How could you?!" she shouted, looking up with fire in her eyes. "He didn't do anything to you! He respected you! HE SAVED MY LIFE!" Luna was shaking with fury, and Harry was confused. He thought he had done something good... why wasn't she happy? "He LOVED me!"

Harry's confusion was replaced by passionate anger. "He didn't love you! He could never love you! He was USING you!" he yelled back. He was holding his wand in a fierce grip, and he saw red staining the green carpet beneath them, running from the body Luna was holding... was that who they were fighting about? Who was he? He saw a tuft of white-blond hair through Luna's arms, and skin so pale it challenged Luna's...

"He wasn't using me! We loved eachother! Just because you hate him doesn't give you the right to kill him!"

Kill? That can't be... Harry would never kill someone... Right as he was about to open his mouth, the scene changed again.

Harry woke up.

xxxx

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I'm an awful person.


End file.
